Oh Damn that was close...

A great effort by the Canucks tonight. Sure they fell short losing in overtime but I really liked their effort as far as consistency goes. Hell, this was the San Jose Sharks for Christ's sakes. That was a well-earned point and I applaud the Canucks team for their efforts.
I could see the difference Sami Salo made as far as getting the puck out of their own zone. The Canucks were not hemmed in their own zone as much as in recent past.
Hell, they played for the 1-0 win and almost pulled it off. Had they pulled it off, Canucks nation would have hopped back on the bandwagon. Unfortunately, the loss may still fuel the doubter's fire.
I am proud of the efforts displayed tonight and I can see a bright immediate future for the team. They have only gotten better in the past 3 games.
Take a week off boys, and keep up the great effort. It can only lead to greater things.

PS: How about Ales Hemsky and the Oilers? Holy shitballs.

PPS: I think my Burrows-Thornton Photoshop image wasn't that far off. Burrows stymied Joe for most of the game.

Highlights

Canucks-Sharks Preview: The Glass is Half Full

Too much gore for the post image? Oh well.
The Canucks finally get away from home to play the Sharks at the tank tomorrow/today. Before this big homestand they just failed at miserably, we were saying how much they needed to get off the road and away from the insane schedule. Now it's the other way around. I'm sure it's too tense for a team struggling with having a fragile confidence level to be playing that many games at home.
Unfortunately they play the best team in the West on the road before the All Star break hits.
Last time these 2 teams played wasn't all that long ago, and the Sharks had their way with us. I'm thinking the teams' effort may be better this time around, even if the end result is possibly the same.
There was some fight in the Canucks' game against the Blue Jackets. After the 4 goals against brain fart the Canucks showed resiliency to tie it up at 5. They showed that they aren't quitting. That's a good thing. That is one reason why I think the glass is half full with this team and not half empty.
Another reason? Sundin is looking better. Luongo and Sundin are going to need more time to play at the level that we expect of them. Sundin is progressing. Luongo has only had 2 games under his belt since his return and looks like he needs a lot of work. But he'll get there. Luongo called himself a "work in progress" after the loss to Columbus and that he is.
The defence, with Bieksa being center stage for his follies will improve. There just isn't a lot of confidence there right now and the D is not making smart decisions getting the puck out of their zone. But they were being smart earlier in the season. They'll get back to that smart play.

Demitra's groin injury shouldn't spell demise. When he hurt his ribs in late October, the Canucks went 6-2-1 in his absence. The were 3-4-0 before that injury and had lost the previous 3 straight games. Demitra is not the cog that holds this machine together. He's only an inconsistent drifting part of it.

Sami Salo is ready to play against the Sharks. Speaking of not getting the puck out of their zone...Salo can help with that, and he can also play a tonne of minutes. Oh and his shot on the power play is missed. But remember, Salo is not going to save the day. The team as a whole needs to build on the positives of the game against Columbus.

More updates pre game as they happen.

T Tags: Canucks+Sharks+game+preview January+20+2009 Salo+returns Demitra+injured slump improving+team positivity

Sharks call up Super Pest Claude Lemieux

Lemieux has 3 goals and 8 assists with Worcester this season. It's his first time playing in the NHL since the 2002-03 season. You know when the Sharks' next game is? Tuesday against the Vancouver Canucks. This should be interesting.
I'm not hiding it, I have always been a Lemieux fan. I never liked it when he turtled rather than fought, but I liked his aggressive spirit nevertheless.
Odds are he'll play on the 4th line in San Jose for now.

Tech Tags: the+return+of+Claude+Lemieux Sharks Canucks January+19+2009

Canucks-Sharks period by period

I'm going to try something a little different for tonight's game against the Sharks. After each period I'm going to rate the Canucks' performance in several different categories in report card fashion. After the game I'll average out the ratings to hopefully give you more of an idea of how the team performed. Ratings will be based on my own opinion. If you disagree in any shape or form, you can let me know in the comments section.
Since all eyes are on Sundin, I'll include his general performance in a stat category as well.

PERIOD 1

Goaltending- 99% (flukey Blake goal off Kesler's skate)
Defensive play- 99%
Offensive play- 100%
Power play efficiency- 60%
Penalty Killing efficiency- 99%
Discipline- 20%
Shots for- 100%
Shots against- 60%
Ambition/effort- 100%
Physical game- 50%
Sundin's performance- 95%

PERIOD 2

Goaltending- 30% (lousy goal let in by Sanford)
Defensive play- 95%
Offensive play- 90%
Power play efficiency- 10% (no goals on a 4 minute PP)
Penalty Killing efficiency- 100%
Discipline- 95%
Shots for- 95%
Shots against- 95% (only 7 shots for the Sharks)
Ambition/effort- 100%
Physical game- 60%
Sundin's performance- 85%

PERIOD 3

Goaltending- 40% (Sanford just didn't get it done.)
Defensive play- 40%
Offensive play- 40%
Power play efficiency- 0%
Penalty Killing efficiency- 50%
Discipline- 30% (Mats...what were you doing? 2 minors in the 3rd)
Shots for- 10%
Shots against- 10%
Ambition/effort- 70%
Physical game- 30%
Sundin's performance- 20%

AVERAGE

Goaltending- 56%
Defensive play- 78%
Offensive play- 76%
Power play efficiency- 23%
Penalty Killing efficiency- 83%
Discipline- 48%
Shots for- 68%
Shots against- 55%
Ambition/effort- 90%
Physical game- 47%
Sundin's performance- 67%

This ratings thing is kind of tough. It needs to be simplified.
Sundin looked better tonight, scoring a goal and 4 shots. But he took 2 penalties in the 3rd. One of them led to Marleau scoring a PP goal..the winning goal.
To me, a lot of them blame falls on Sanford tonights as he really wasn't good enough at all.

T Tags: Canucks Sharks game+review live ratings performance January+10+2009

Sharks sign Claude Lemieux to a 2-way contract

From Sportsnet:

"This is simply the next step in the evaluation process with Claude," Sharks executive vice-president and general manager Doug Wilson said. Lemieux must still clear NHL waivers, which would run through Tues., Dec. 30 at Noon PST. Should he clear waivers, Wilson said he would be assigned back to Worcester.

Lemieux is probably hated by most fans for his antics, but I'm not one of the haters. His intensity and passion in the playoffs is nearly unmatched. He was like an Alex Burrows on crack with better hands.
The 43 year old Lemieux isn't exactly tearing it up with Worchester, with 2 goals and 6 points in 14 games with the Sharks' affiliate. But he may just be a decent addition if a depth player gets injured in San Jose...especially in the playoffs.
Claude's career points per game in the regular season (NHL): .655
His NHL playoffs points per game: .678 The stats don't show his playoff prowess but his play does.
Lemieux has won 4 Stanley Cups in his career: One with the Canadiens in 1986, one with the Avalanche in 1996, and 2 with the Devils (1995 and 2000).

T tags: Sharks+sign+Claude+Lemieux 2+way+contract

Canucks stink up the Shark Tank

5-0 Sharks. I had predicted 5-1 Sharks. Many, including myself are wondering why Alain Vigneault didn't start Curtis Sanford tonight, as Cory Schneider faced a barrage of Sharks shots and didn't have much of a chance. Sanford replaced Schneider and stopped all shots he faced just to re-enforce our opinion. But hold on a second. The Canucks played a fair bit better in front of Sanford tonight plus the Sharks let up on us after it was 5-0. Sanford faced a few tough shots and looked solid. Further proof of the Sharks backing off? The Canucks outshot the Sharks 13-5 in the 3rd period.
Maybe AV saw something in Schneider recently that prompted him to start red head. Maybe he thought Sanford couldn't handle back-to-back starts on consecutive nights. Who cares? Not saying names, but the Canucks handed out some apple turnovers in front of Schneider. One team had chicken or turkey plus stuffing and eggnog on their minds prematurely while the other team didn't.
Call it a stinker. Nothing to worry about, except for this.
Don't even start with the jet lag excuses. How long does it take to fly from Vancouver to San Jose?
It was a stinker. No use in over-analyzing this one. It's over now. If the Canucks played that way in front of Luongo they would have lost this one. The Sharks are an amazing team, and we just let them toy with us.

BOXSCORE

Gonna take a miracle to save us this time

17-0-2. That is the Sharks' record at home this season. They are 26-4-3 overall. That is a scary good team. They did drop 2 of 3 games on the road last week to Detroit and Columbus, but returned home to beat the Rangers on Saturday. Wait..Columbus? Hey maybe we have a chance against these guys. Ah, but then go to Canucks.com's preview and you will see that since October 5, 2007 the Sharks have beaten us 4 straight times, out-scoring us 15-6 in the process. Joe Thornton has 3 goals and 6 assists in that span. Steve Bernier scored twice against us in them 4 games.

A breakaway goal

and a gift-wrapped goal.

What are the chances that Steve Bernier has a hell of a game tonight? He had 2 assists last night. Looks like he could peak at the right time. Cross your fingers. This Canucks team, even though it has won 4 of its last 6, is going to need all the help they can get.

It's too bad Luongo isn't in net. Then we could truly see how we measure up against the Sharks. It's going to be a massive task for whatever Canucks goaltender plays tonight. The Sharks rank 5th in the League on the power play and 4th on the penalty kill. The Canucks rank 17th and 9th respectively. So you know the drill for this game and what it will take for us to get a win.

Think we'll be deep at center when Sundin arrives? The Sharks have Thornton (37 points in 33 games), Marleau (37 points in 33 games), Pavelski (24 points in 31 games) and good ol' JR Jeremy Roenick, who is out of the lineup with a shoulder injury. There is a lot of skill on that Sharks club that we have to shut down tonight.

A win and we'll chant "woo!" and scream to the rest of the League that we are contenders. A loss and we'll blame it on the fact that we don't have Luongo or Sundin yet and say to ourselves "good damned thing we beat the Ducks last night!"

This could get ugly, OR this could be a defining Vancouver Canucks team moment.

Canucks.com's live blog is here.

TIME: 7:00 PST
TV: TSN

T Tags: Canucks Sharks game+preview December+23+2008

Canucks place Matt Pettinger and Jason Krog on waivers

Matt Pettinger was acquired by the Canucks from the Capitals for Matt Cooke last season. He was getting squeezed down the depth chart anyway. I thought Krog might have stuck. Nope. Rumors have him heading to the KHL if no NHL team picks him up.

The current Canucks roster up front looks something like this:

Sedin-Sedin-Bernier
Raymond-Demitra-Pyatt
Burrows-Kesler-Hansen
Hordichuk-Wellwood-Johnson

But not even that is in stone yet. If it is, I almost like it. At this point of the game I don't know where Wellwood properly fits in. Is he going to get 2nd line duty? He isn't a 4th line player. Thoughts?

Several teams are finalizing their rosters and putting players on waivers. How about Boyd Devereaux and Staffan Kronwall out of Toronto, Peter Schaefer out of Boston, and Kyle McLaren out of San Jose.

There's more.

T Tags: Canucks+place+Jason+Krog+Matt+Pettinger+on+waivers Peter+Schaefer Kyle+McLaren
Boyd+Devereaux

Canucks are 6-0 in preseason

Canucks.com was streaming the game live but I was one of many who could not get the game to load up. Not sure what number of people were repeatedly trying to load the game at the same time, but obviously the site couldn't handle it, or some other error occured.
I hear our top line did well. Both Sedins and Bernier scored.

-Pictures of the game from Yahoo.

-Game story from Yahoo

-Check out the boxscore of the game. It looks as though Kevin Bieksa is ready for massive playing time and a considerate increase in points this season...if nobody skates over his leg. He played over 27:00, was a +1 and had 2 assists. This is just another great story coming out of Vancouver these days.
Terrific preseason, but I won't jump up and down about it. Vancouver needs to get it done in the regular season, and I have this feeling they will.

-Highlights from TSN.

T Tags: Canucks+beat+Sharks preseason Kevin+Bieksa+monster

Canucks 3 Sharks 2 Box Score

Didn't see the game on CDC because I was live drafting with some friends.
Is Jannik Hansen going to earn a spot or what? Any other comments? Did any of you watch the game? How was it?
Me drunk. G'night.

Finally, a Leafs coach that preaches defence first / JFJ to San Jose

Ron Wilson is going to preach defence-first with the Leafs. And if they don't like it, they won't play. It's about time somebody did this in Toronto. If every player buys into Wilson's system I think the gutted Leafs could turn a few heads this year. We know Pavel Kubina played ina tight defensive system before and won a Cup doing it in Tampa. Now let's see how Tomas Kaberle deals with the change.
Like the reporter said: the Leafs were 4th-worst in the NHL for goals against last season. That will change.

John Ferguson Jr. will not get another crack as an NHL GM anytime soon. But he has been named the Sharks' director of pro scouting. That may come with a little fan backlash I'm sure. But at least he is not in the position to piss away the good picks he finds, right? He just has to find good prospects. He'll be fine.

T Tags: Ron+Wilson+preaching+defence+first Maple+Leafs Amen Sharks+hire+John+Ferguson+jr director+of+pro+scouting

Sharks finally address offensive-defencemen issues

The Sharks are making all the right moves to pushing the team in to Cup position. Today they acquired defencemen Dan Boyle and Brad Lukowich from the Lightning in exchange for Matt Carle (he's pretty good too, and Tampa needed to clear cap space) as well as prospect Ty Wishart, a first round pick in 2009, and a 4th round pick in 2010. Keep in mind that sure, the Sabres let Brian Campbell go to free agency (and he recieved a deal worth over $7 million with the Hawks) and Boyle signed a 6-year deal last season that pays him $6.67 million per season.
On top of that, the Sharks signed UFA Rob Blake to a 1-year $5 million deal yesterday. While Blake had his worst points-per-game totals last year with the Kings, I think the 38 year-old can put up more points than that in San Jose because he's not playing with an atrocious Kings team anymore.

Boyle, Lukowich and Blake have all won Stanley Cups.

To give you an idea on how long it's been since the Sharks have had 1 or 2 serious offensive defencemen check out the scoring from their over the past several years:

-2007-08 (Campbell was acquired at the deadline, so cross him off) Beyond him, the D only scored 18 goals combined.
-2006-07: Carle and Erhoff have good seasons yet only score 21 goals combined while the rest of the D combined for 19 goals.
-2005-06: Tom Preissing suprises everyone scoring 11 goals, while the rest of the D combines for 17 goals.
-2003-04: Brad Stuart leads the D with 9 goals and the rest of the D combines for 14 goals.
-2002-03: Mike Rathje leads the Sharks D with 7 goals and the rest of them combined for 9 goals.
-2001-02: Gary Suter and company combine for 31 goals total.
-2000-01: Gary Suter scores 10 goals and the rest of the D combines for 23 goals.

So you see my point. It's been a long time coming since San Jose had a superstar defenceman, if ever. Suter was in the latter stages of his career in the early 2000's.

The Sharks have lost 2 D-men today in Matt Carle and now Craig Rivet, who along with the San Jose's seventh-round selection in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft has been traded to the Sabres in exchange for second-round selections in the 2009 and 2010 drafts.
So not only are the Sharks getting immediate help (because they need to win NOW), they are also securing their future with higher picks that they lost in the Boyle deal. Doug Wilson is somewhat of a genius. He just needs his team to go over the top this year, or his ass is on the line.

So now the Shark squad looks like this:

Forwards

Joe Thornton
Jonathan Cheechoo
Ryane Clowe
Marcel Goc
Mike Grier
Patrick Marleau
Milan Michalek
Torrey Mitchell
Joe Pavelski
Tomas Plihal
Jeremy Roenick
Devin Setoguchi
Jody Shelley
Tom Cavanagh

Defensemen

Dan Boyle
Rob Blake
Brad Lukowich
Christian Ehrhoff
Marc-Edouard Vlasic
Kyle McLaren
Derek Joslin
Douglas Murray
Brad Norton

Goalies

Brian Boucher
Thomas Greiss
Evgeni Nabokov

Not too bad, huh? You gotta love the goaltending and defence core. Solid.
A revamped and more offensive defensive unit combined with a new coach in Todd McClellan provides the Sharks with a new look and attitude. Yet one question remains...will Joe Thornton become a dominant player in the playoffs? 2 goals and 10 points in the playoffs in 13 games last season was not good enough.
It would also help if Cheechoo's stats stopped going down like the Titanic as well. The same can be said about Patrick Marleau.
Even when these guys are not going 100% you still gotta fear those Sharks. So just imagine how much better the team just got in the last 2 days.

T Tags: Sharks+acquire+Dan+Boyle+and+Brad+Lukowich trade Sharks+acquire+Rob+Blake free agent

Ron Wilson to coach Leafs **UPDATE** To be announced Tuesday

According to TSN, Ron Wilson and the Leafs are close to reaching an agreement that could see Wilson sign a 4-year contract. He is supposed to talk more with Cliff Fletcher tomorrow and an announcement is planned for early next week or sooner.
Judging by how Wilson coached the Leafs and even the Capitals, he does have a defensive-minded approach. But so did Paul Maurice, apparently. That didn't work out very well now, did it? It will be adaunting task for Wilson to get that Leaf bunch on the same page and back into a playoff picture.
As well, Wilson was Vesa Toskala's coach in San Jose whether or not that means anything.
I'm not in agreement or disagreement with this decision by Fletcher. The only knick I have with this is that Wilson, in all his experience, has never gotten a team to the top, to glory. He never could lead the Sharks past a few rounds in the playoffs even though the team was pretty good on paper. His Capitals were swept by the dominant Red Wings in 1998.

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UPDATE

From the Fan 590:

Wilson will sign for at least four years, and perhaps five — which is most certainly the time he’ll need to help build the Leafs into a contending team. Wilson understands that he’s likely to garner sub-standard results in his first season or two behind the Toronto bench. It’s in the latter stages of his agreement that he intends to mould a club with better personnel into a winner. That’s why he needed a half-decade of security in his contract with the Leafs.

From CBC.ca: The report is that it's a 4-year $5.6 million deal with incentives tacked on.

Thanks to Temujin for the link to NoCups.com, which is selling all form of T-shirts, like the one Wilson is wearing.

T Tags: Ron+Wilson+to+coach+Leafs Defence Cliff+Fletcher

Arrogant Ron Wilson confident in his job security

I thought this quip by Sharks coach Ron Wilson was almost laughable in its arrogance. When asked about his job security, Wilson said:

"That's all irrelevant. You look at my record, it's second to none, literally, in the sport, so I'm not even worried about that," said Wilson, whose Sharks lead the NHL in total victories over the last four seasons.
I don't think there has to be too many things changed about our team," he added. "We're ready to roll next year, too. We've accomplished more since I've been here than any other team in the league except win the Stanley Cup. That's the next thing we check off on our list. . I know a lot of teams - well, 25 other teams - probably wish they were in our shoes."

(From TSN)
I've never heard a coach who missed the semi-finals talk so cocky. Sure, the Sharks have one of the best records in the past several years, but they still failed to make it to the Cup Finals. How many times were they good enough on paper to get there? Way too many.
Sure, the Sharks-Stars series was close in each games' outcomes, and they came so close to forcing a Game 7, but that is not the point. They failed yet again to advance to where they were expected to advance. And when that happens, a GM or coach gets the axe, because something has to change.
I would be very suprised if Wilson is not walking down the unemployment line within the next couple of months.

T Tags: Sharks Ron+Wilson+confident Cocky Arrogant

Brendan Morrow epitomizes what a captain should be

“Because they played two games last night,” Wings coach Mike Babcock joked today, “we got to watch them even closer.”

The Wings had better look long and hard at this Stars squad, and maybe put a little extra padding on as well when they face a tough team in the Western Final.
What a game last night. Those are treats to watch, even though they go late into the night (well, for you people in the east.) I couldn't feel any worse for Evgeni Nabokov. He did everything he could in net, including make the best save of the playoffs. But it wasn't enough.
Enough cannot be said about Stars' captain Brendan Morrow and his performance in these playoffs, but especially last night. Is there anything he can't do? First he kills Milan Michalek with a shoulder-separating hit, then he goes out and plays with a vengeance in just over 3 overtimes, eventually bagging the winner.
His eyes bulge out of his head when he scores. He is a man possessed. When he smoked Michalek at the end of the 3rd period, he almost payed no attention to his foe laying hurt on the ice. Nah, he just walked to the dressing room and prepared for battle in overtime.
Morrow epitomizes not only everything that I like about hockey, but also everything I think a team captain should resemble. Morrow has 7 goals and 11 points in 12 playoff games now. That would place him 11th in points and 5th in goal scoring. But he doesn't have to lead the NHL playoff scoring list. He could win a Conn Smyth with those stats plus with his play alone. Now imagine if Joe Thornton played with as much grit. As great as Big Joe is as a playmaker, he doesn't use his size very often when it matters most. Can you count how many times he dumped the puck in the opposing zone corner and let someone else from his team go fetch it and do the dirty work?? How many times could Thornton have drove to the net much like Bertuzzi used to do? But he doesn't. He's perimeter and he's not good enough to lead a team to the Cup. Face it.
We'll see if the Stars have what it takes to beat (I'm sure) the favored Red Wings. But one thing is for sure, those dangly little skilled Wings had better keep their heads up. I'm a vengeful bastard. I want to see Datsyuk, Franzen or Zetterberg get hit like that. God, I hate the Red Wings.
It's going to be a great series. I think the Wings have met finally their match in these playoffs.
I got this series going 6 games with Dallas taking it, against all odds. They are such a patient, yet determined bunch. And Marty Turco.....the critics have left the building.

T Tags: Dallas+Stars Red+Wings Series+preview Brendan+Morrow beast

Tuesday's games through the eyes of Photoshop

I give up trying to explain the Sharks. They are not in the same league as Dallas. The Stars continue their relentless play and are showing a lot more heart.




















The Avalanche injury list is raising a lot of questions about the team. Some wonder if Forsberg's injury woes are a distraction to the team. Pierre McGuire said "no way." I tend to agree. The Avs are not getting scoring from their big guns and they are giving Detroit way too much skating room. Those are the real problems.
It makes me think that the Stars could actually beat the Wings, mostly because they are better defensively.

















Who could ever forsee the Rangers getting swept by the Pens? Well it just might happen. And it gets worse. Sean Avery (lacerated spleen) is done for the year. Chris Drury (torso) and Blair Betts (broken jaw) are doubtful for game 4.

T Tags: Rangers Sharks Avalanche Elimination Sean+Avery+spleen+injury

Roenick steals the show

Nothing beats watching 2 Game 7's in a row. A busy but steady Martin Biron stalls the Caps while the stagnant Joffrey Lupul bags the series-clinching goal in the first game and then....of all people...The Mouth of the South Jeremy Roenick turns the clock back about 10 years tonight and absolutely steals the show. Roenick scored 2 goals and had 2 assists as the Sharks, aided by their home crowd, buried the stunned Flames 5-3.
Jeremy fricking Roenick. I think he has 6 goals and 2 assists in 7 career Game 7's now. It's amazing what happens when an egomaniac gets benched in a critical game 6, only to prove his coaching staff wrong and become a hero in the finale.
Jeremy fricking-assed Roenick. Yeah, I hate him. But when he does something like this, I have to respect. I didn't mind him in the Chicago days, and I don't mind seeing him play like this in a Sharks jersey.
The questions will now abound in Calgary as to what to do with the team.
That would have been the case in San Jose had they lost, but the better team won tonight.
I have to tip my hat to Owen Nolan, who really silenced my critical ass in this series. He was heroic.
Even though Kiprusoff let in one weak, screened goal, I wouldn't fault him too much for the loss. The Flames just couldn't contain a possessed Sharks team.
How much of a sigh of relief do you think Sharks coach Ron Wilson let out when the final horn sounded?
I have been knocking Thornton so much in this series. Tonight I thought he really put out a great consistent effort. He had 1 goal, played over 21:00, and really showed the consistent hustle that I thought he lacked throughout the series. Good on him.
On to round 2, where an even better team in Dallas awaits.
Jeremy fricking Roenick. I still can't believe it.

T Tags: Sharks+beat+Flames Game+7 Jeremy+Roenick hero jackass

Thoughts on tonight's Game 7's

It is difficult to pick the Flyers to win tonight's game against the Caps. The Caps have caught fire again and must be primed after erasing a 2-0 deficit in Game 6 and winning 4-2 to stun the Flyers and their fans in Philly's building. Ovechkin had not scored a point since Game 1 and the pressure was building. Even amongst all the tight-checking and banging done to him, he broke out last game, scoring the winning goal and the killer 4th goal. The Caps are not a 1-man team. Teaming Semin with Backstrom has proven to be magic, while Kozlov, Fedorov and Alex play well together as well.
Bad news for Philly indeed. They are going to have to buckle down and score in bunches to beat the Caps. But that's a tall order with Huet in net.
I say the Caps win 4-3.

**UPDATE**

I'm not sure when or how it's OK for Thoreson to push the Caps D-man into Huet and then Kapanen scores, but that's how it was. In the end, I thought the Capitals were explosive, but the Flyers put out a massive gutsy effort. No Gagne. No Knuble. These Flyers are good.
Nice touch by Ovechkin by saluting the fans. OV is THE MAN.


You can toss the Sharks into the big heap of trouble as well. What is it going to take to inspire these guys to match the Flames' physicality and desire? Does Thornton need to snort a bowl of coke before he goes out there? How about Michalek and Campbell show something? Do Ryan Clowe and Nabokov have to do it all by themselves?
You know what will help here? Home ice advantage. That had better fire these guys up, or Ron Wilson is going to be fired by next week. Maybe even the return of Jeremy Roenick (after being a healthy scratch last game) may help.
I got the Sharks winning this one 2-1, even though I have lost almost all of my trust in these guys and should be giving up on them by now.

**UPDATE** Jeremy "fucking" Roenick??????

T Tags: Capitals Flyers Flames Sharks Game+7

Habs-Bruins and Caps-Flyers thoughts, Sharks in trouble

Habs-Bruins Game 7
What a game this is going to be. After a thrilling finish to Game 6 and a Bruins win to force this series to 7 games, who really knows what to expect in Game 7. I would say that you won't see what happened in the 3rd period last game to happen in the final game. Both teams should be a little more cautious.
A big key to this game may be how composed the Habs will be after brain farting in Game 6. Is Carey Price going to be the difference?
Something I really noticed in Game 6 was the asshat play of Alexei Kovalev. I think a really big reason Kovalev did not show up was because Saku Koivu returned from a broken foot for the first time in the series and the spotlight wasn't on the Russian anymore. Think of it this way: Kovalev wore the "c" in Koivu's absence and was a force to be reckoned with just before the playoffs and in the first 5 games of the series as well. Hell, he had 6 points in the first 5 games. Koivu comes back in game 6, and Kovalev plays 21:46, has only 2 shots, no points and was a -3. Some guys love the spotlight, and Kovalev is one of them. Let's see how he rebounds (or acts) tonight.
Personally, I think he's a highly gifted selfish jackass.
5-2 Habs win tonight is my prediction. But I sure hope I'm wrong.

**UPDATE** 2 assists for Kovalev and a bunch of points for the Kostitsyn Buthas and the Habs destroy the B's 5-0. Carey Price showed a lot of composure for a kid in Game 7.

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Flyers-Capitals Game 6
All the talk about the Flyers-Capitals game tonight revolves around (of course) Alex Ovechkin. Can he get his offence going in the postseason? One last chance to be a playoff hero since game 1. At least Semin and Fedorov picked up the slack in Game 5 to prolong the series. But it will be a masterful upset if the Caps beat Philly in front of the crazy-spirited blood-hungry Flyer faithful tonight. I say the Flyers end it tonight 4-2.

**UPDATE** Holy crap, it's a Russian Mob takeover tonight! Ovechkin becomes the hero and Semin and Backstrom majorly contribute in a 4-2 Caps win. Now the Flyers are in trouble as they have to beat the surging Caps in front of a sea of red tomorrow.

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Unless Joe Thornton can lead by example and show some more heart and offence, it looks as though the Flames will take their series. When I watch that series, I hardly watch the puck. I just follow Thornton around the screen. It's not because I got some kind of sick love affair with the guy. No, it's because I have been hacking the slug for the whole series and I want to know for sure that my accusations are justified. And they are. I don't care that Big Joe has 1 goal and 5 assists in 6 games. As decent as that is, there are too many times where he refuses to shoot the puck in key areas and too many times that he lacks grit and pays the price. Joe doesn't go, the Sharks don't go. How about this... in 64 career NHL playoff games, Joe has only 10 goals and 44 points.

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Nothing made me happier than to see the Ducks lose last night. I refuse to cheer for Scott Niedermayer and especially Todd Bertuzzi. Even better news from the Ducks camp is that Scott Niedermayer has been fined $500,000 by the League for not reporting to training camp last fall, as he was considering retirement. Ha! (Update: Bob McKenzie says that the team itself fines Niedermayer.) I guess there is a rule about that in the CBA. Couldn't happen to a better Duck and a bigger cheating GM in Brian Burke, who really kept Niedermayer and Selanne out of the Ducks lineup to save cap space. (Burke is fighting this fine and trying to reverse it. So then, Selanne WAS at training camp then?

**UPDATE** I think Selanne had a double bogey on his first hole.

T Tags: Canadiens Bruins Game+7 Flyers Capitals Game+6 Joe+Thornton+sucks Kovalev+sucks

Which team can come back in their series?

With one series being over and six others being on the brink of being over, let's go through the six and analyze which team has a chance at making a comeback.

Canadiens-Bruins (Habs lead series 3-2).
We finally saw the human side of Carey Price last night. He let in 2 very soft goals in the 3rd period last night in a 5-1 loss and appeared to have lost his focus. Is this the end of Price's run? How will the youngster handle the pressure after a poor performance like that? I don't know him well enough to answer that, but he did say that he doesn't have very many bad back-to-back games and vows for a better performance in game 6. But this series just got a hell of a lot more close than it should have last night. Game 6 is going to be great in all of its importance. Jeez, the Bruins are explosive sometimes, and Tim Thomas is ......well, a god actually. I can't predict the outcome of this one, but the Bruins have the momentum now. If they win game 6, they may have a lock on game 7.

Flyers-Capitals (Flyers lead series 3-1).
I think you can almost bank on this series being over. The Capitals were so red hot going into these playoffs, that I wondered if the young team would cool off if they finally lost a game. That is what has happened. Ovechkin has been silenced and is on the verge of losing it. Sergei Fedorov can't hit an open net. Yeah, this series is ending up the way it should have, I suppose. The Flyers are rolling along just fine.
I haven't seen so many giveaways in a series in quite a while though. Sloppy hockey, but very entertaining hockey.

Avalanche-Wild (Avalanche lead series 3-2).
The Avs have won 2 games in a row and have outscored the Wild 8-3 in that span. The comeback player of the year, Jose Theodore is playing so damned well right now. A guy named Gaborik, whom the Wild are relying on in order to have any chance, is pulling a whodini act and is pointless in the Wild's 5 games so far (19 shots though).
I would consider this series to be all but over in 6. Next game is in Denver.

Rangers-Devils (Rangers lead series 3-1).I think the Rangers remind me of the Hurricanes when Carolina won the Cup a couple years back. Their defence rarely offensively contributes in goals but is sharp in their own end. The depth in forwards is killer. Lundqvist is playing like Cam Ward did. Is anyone going to stop the Rangers? The Penguins might in round 2, but the Devils won't in round 1.

Stars-Ducks (Stars lead series 3-1).
The Stars have barely let up on these Ducks the whole series, and are about to finish off the defending champs. Dallas' hustle is pretty much second-to-none in these playoffs, and if anyone is still questioning Turco's ability in the playoffs, they need a bullet wound.
Hey it's never over until the fat lady quacks right? Somewhere in the world I can see Oprah Winfrey standing in front of a mirror, ready to start making Duck noises.
Oh, and thanks for comin' Bertuzzi! (not) Nothing makes me happier than seeing Bert and the Fowl teeing off early.

Sharks-Flames (Sharks lead series 3-2)
Never count out a team from Alberta. As well as the Sharks are playing right now, it's not great enough to convince me that the Flames can't come back in this series. No lead is ever safe in this series, and that is one big reason why it's so fun to watch.
Look out for Cheechoo though. He seems ready to heat up.
Joe Thornton to me, is a cross between the Sedins and Bertuzzi. He has the speed and skill for a big guy, but he doesn't always use it to his advantage. Errant passes get intercepted. He doesn't always shoot when he should. Brilliant at times. Ass at other times. Not a clutc guy as much as he could be.
The real dudes on this team are Patrick Marleau and Ryan Clowe. By the way, the Canucks NEED to acquire Marleau this summer. Wouldn't he be a great fit?
Out of all the nearly-finalized series' left, I'd say the Flames have the best chance to come back. Next game is in Calgary.

What are your thoughts? Do you disagree with me on any of these points? It's ok, you can tell me if I'm full of shit.

T Tags: NHL Playoffs Round+one Carey+Price+meltdown Thornton+sucks Gaborik+sucks